Filter assemblies may be used in fuel systems to remove particulates within a fuel stream between a fuel tank and an engine and/or other components. For example, a pump may move the fuel through the system from the fuel tank to the engine. The filter assembly may include a filter cartridge disposed downstream of the pump to remove the particulates from the fuel prior to delivery to the engine and/or other downstream components. The filter cartridge may also be configured to separate out fluids, such as water, from the fuel that may create erratic fuel delivery, thereby effecting performance of the downstream components.
It is known, to use filter cartridges having one filter element that has media to first coalesce fluid from the fuel, and another filter element that has media to further filter the fuel. For instance, the filter element used for coalescing the fluid may include a coarse media, while the other filter element used for removing particulates within the fuel may include a more fine media. Conventionally, these filter elements are concentrically arranged such that the coalescing media surrounds the filter media and a space is defined between the two medias to allow the coalesced fluid to drain out of the filter cartridge. While conventional filter cartridges using two filter elements in this manner may be effective for separating fluid (e.g., water) and particulates from fuel, arranging the two filter medias in this manner complicates the ability to easily assemble such filter cartridges.